"In unadjusted terms there were 423,733 people signing on the Live Register in December 2012. This represents an annual decrease of 11,051 (people) or a decrease of 2.5pc," the CSO said in a statement.

The Live Register includes part-time workers - those who work up to three days a week - and casual workers entitled to benefits, in a country with a population just under 4.6 million.

The figures represent a fall in the standardised unemployment rate of 0.3 percent in the twelve months since January.

Unemployment peaked at 15.0pc in February last year, the highest level since Dublin entered an €85bn EU-IMF bailout programme in November 2010.